mtl008 Are you satisfied with Chapter 96?
Are you satisfied with Chapter 96?
"Oh?" Xia Li and Tao Zhi exchanged a glance, a hint of surprise flashing in their eyes.
The woman bowed slightly and said softly, "To be honest, my mother is a famous embroiderer in the Jiangnan region. I have been learning embroidery from my mother since I was a child, and now I have mastered her skills completely."
Xia Li frowned slightly, puzzled, and asked, "If that's the case, how did your family end up in such a poor and desperate situation?"
The woman sighed softly, her eyes filled with sorrow: "I used to run an embroidery shop, but my husband died young and my son fell seriously ill. All our savings were spent on his medical treatment, and that's why... alas, I've ended up in this state."
Xia Li's heart skipped a beat. She exchanged another glance with Tao Zhi, then swiftly drew her dagger and made a few cuts along the hem of her clothes, revealing several gashes. She looked up, her gaze probing: "Look, is this mended well?"
Upon hearing this, Zeng San Niang quickly leaned closer for a closer look. Her eyes widened instantly, filled with astonishment. Her gaze was fixed on the cut and embroidery of the skirt, her greedy eyes seemingly trying to imprint every pattern and every embroidery technique into her very being. Then, seeing the several cuts, she gasped, crying out in distress, "Oh dear, Miss, this is top-quality Yun brocade, truly worth its weight in gold! Such a small cut from you is truly..."
"In your opinion, is there any way to salvage this situation?" Xia Li pressed.
Zeng San Niang leaned closer and examined it carefully for a while, then frowned slightly: "It can be repaired, of course, but... it is quite difficult and extremely time-consuming."
Xia Li still had doubts and asked softly, "How exactly should we make up for it?"
A confident glint flashed in Zeng San Niang's eyes as she calmly said, "First, we need to remove the embroidery from the damaged area before mending the fabric. But this mending method is quite different from the usual one; we can't just haphazardly patch it up or sew it up hastily. We must find silk threads that are exactly the same color and texture as the fabric, and carefully weave it stitch by stitch according to the warp and weft. Although the finished product won't be as sturdy as the original fabric, the skirt is already fully embroidered. After the embroidery is cleverly connected to the edges, it should be fine for everyday wear."
Her words were clear and logical, clearly those of an expert. Although Xia Li didn't understand these intricacies, seeing Tao Zhi nodding secretly beside her, she couldn't help but whisper, "If I let you fix it now, would that be alright?"
Zeng San Niang nodded slightly: "Mending is no problem, but there are two difficulties. First, we must find silk thread that is exactly the same in material and color; second, even if it is mended, it will be difficult to make it indistinguishable from the original. I can only do my best to make the surface look flawless, but the back will never be as neat as before."
After a moment's thought, Xia Li decisively said, "I'll take you to buy silk thread."
The two arrived at the largest embroidery thread stall in the city. Xia Li watched Zeng San Niang move freely among the dazzling array of embroidery threads, and was secretly amazed. Two bundles of threads that looked exactly the same to her, Zeng San Niang could precisely distinguish the subtle color differences.
The stall owner treated Zeng San Niang with great respect, which reassured Xia Li and Tao Zhi. It seemed that Zeng San Niang truly possessed some real skills.
Zeng San Niang carefully selected more than a dozen colors of silk thread before stopping. She then looked up and asked, "Do you have any embroidery needles, gold thread, or silver thread here?"
The stall owner hurriedly replied, "Gold and silver threads are too precious. Our shop only stocks a small quantity. If you want some, I'll go find some right away." As he spoke, he turned around and brought out a large wooden box from behind him. "I have all sizes and thicknesses of embroidery needles. Please choose whichever you like."
Zeng San Niang bent down to examine them, and after a moment said, "I want the finest ones, give me fifty to start."
Upon hearing this, Momo exclaimed in surprise, "Fifty sticks? Isn't that too many?"
The stall owner smiled and explained, "Ladies, you may not know this, but Third Sister has chosen only the finest and highest quality silk threads, presumably for embroidering extremely delicate items. Naturally, the needle must be the finest and sharpest. We laymen may not be able to tell, but experts do. After a while, the tip of an embroidery needle isn't as sharp as it used to be. It's fine for ordinary embroidery, but for delicate work, you have to change the needle frequently."
Tao Zhi suddenly realized what was happening and clicked her tongue in amazement. Although she and Tao Yao also learned to make clothes, their young mistress had never allowed them to use such fine fabrics as Yun brocade for embroidery. This wasn't embroidering clothes; it was embroidering gold!
Thinking of this, Momo said urgently, "We'll take all of how many you have here."
Zeng San Niang quickly stopped her, saying, "We don't need this much. We can buy more when we run out. Don't waste it."
The stall owner, however, was a quick-witted man. He hurriedly smiled and smoothed things over: "Oh dear, what are you talking about buying or not buying? Here's what we'll do: if Third Sister wants fifty needles, I'll give you another fifty. I'll definitely deliver the gold and silver thread to you tomorrow." He knew perfectly well that compared to the profit Third Sister Zeng made from the high-quality silk thread she bought, these few embroidery needles were nothing.
Xia Li didn't care about the amount of money; she chose this stall only because it had a complete selection of silk threads so she could buy everything she needed at once and get back to repair her dress as quickly as possible. So, she readily nodded and handed over a silver note: "If you can deliver the gold and silver threads before evening, you don't need to give me change."
"Alright, alright!" The stall owner beamed and bowed as he saw the two off.
After that, Zeng San Niang stayed inside the shop and didn't come out. It took her a whole day to bring the mended dress to Xia Li's room.
"Miss, look at this, are you satisfied?" Zeng San Niang asked with a hint of trepidation.
Xia Li and Tao Yao hurriedly took the dress and examined it carefully, turning it over and over. From the front, they couldn't find any trace of damage, which amazed them. But when they turned it over to the back, they discovered that the repair was done; the stitches were slightly messy, and the threads were crisscrossed.
Upon seeing this, Zeng San Niang blushed and explained somewhat embarrassedly, "Miss, the back is really because we wanted to make the front pattern look better. Many of the stitches on the back couldn't be hidden as well as the original embroidery, which is why it looks a bit messy. I hope you won't mind."
"What does it matter if the back is a little messy? Besides, it's hardly messy at all! The fact that the skirt can be patched up like this is already beyond my expectations."
Upon hearing Xia Li say this, Tao Zhi immediately took out the silver notes she had prepared and handed them to Zeng San Niang.
Zeng San Niang repeatedly refused, saying, "Miss has already granted me permission to work here to supplement the family income, which is a great favor. Besides, this was originally a test set by Miss for me, how can I accept money?"
Tao Zhi grabbed her hand and stuffed the silver note into her hand, saying, "Zeng San Niang, your skills are so good, this is what you deserve. Besides, if you want to work here in the future and really want to repay us, then make it up to us with your embroidery. After all, your skillful hands are worth much more than this mere silver note."